“I’ve got Fenders of various ages and they all sound different. That’s not a Spinal Tap thing – they just do!” Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris on staying loyal to Fender, and the Gibson that sounded “horrible”

Steve Harris of Iron Maiden performs on stage at the Rod Laver Arena on 6th Feb 2008 in Melbourne, Australia. .

Iron Maiden have been headbanging away since 1979, anchored by bassist Steve Harris, who told Bass Player: “We’re still pretty fit and we can still run around the stage. I’ve got more grey hairs, but we’re not at the zimmer-frame level yet!”

Born in Leytonstone in London, Harris originally wanted to be a footballer – and to this day, he's just as happy to chat about West Ham as debate the finer points of a bass guitar's tonality.